Time-Saving Training for Multisport Athletes [Paperback]

Rick Niles (Author), Richard Niles (Author), Karen Smyers (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1997

This guide provides a training system for improving performance in only five to nine hours of workouts a week. By working out for short periods at threshold level, athletes build a conditioning base that translates into faster times in swimming, cycling and running. Features in this resource include complete sample workouts for three weeks of swim, bike or run emphasis; a chapter on improving form; a section of quick tips and training drills; and a two-week crash training schedule.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Niles is a highly experienced triathlon coach and an age-group triathlete. He has worked with athletes of all abilities since 1989. Niles holds regular triathlon training clinics in Santa Rosa, California, for age-group triathletes, and he coaches masters swimmers.

Overtrained, discouraged, and lacking a social life because of 20- and 30-hour training weeks during 1982 and 1983, Niles began to look for a better way. While earning an MA in physical education (with an exercise physiology concentration) from Sonoma State University (SSU), he developed his training system. He also taught assessment and conditioning classes for the general student population at SSU and for track and cross-country athletes.

Niles consults and designs training schedules for athletes all over the world. In addition to writing a software program called Performance Progress Plus, which assesses fitness levels and creates race projections for swimming, cycling, and running, Niles has written articles on training for Runner’s World, Bicycling, and numerous regional publications. He is a regular contributor to Inside Triathlon, Triathlete, and Triathlon Sports in Australia.

Niles lives in Santa Rosa, California. In his free time he enjoys sailing, skiing, and spending time with his wife, Diane, and son, Kevin.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers; First Edition edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880115386
• ISBN-13: 978-0880115384
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,178,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book delivers what the title promises, March 4, 2000

By 

A new triathlete from the US... - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time-Saving Training for Multisport Athletes (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book to any athlete who 1. has limited time and/or 2. is new to multisport. This book is incredibly easy to understand and follow and will help you reap the maximum benefits from your training in less time, period.

As a mom, I don't have all day to train. But, last year was my first year in triathlon (and swimming/biking), and through this program I placed in my age group twice by the end of the summer, including a challenging 1/2 ironman course - on less than 10 hours/week of training.

If you are new to triathlon, or in desperate need of a break from ridiculous volumnes of training, get this book!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good training advice! Technical info you can understand., February 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Time-Saving Training for Multisport Athletes (Paperback)

This is the training book I've been waiting for. Niles is very good at explaning the physiology and mechanics of multisport training without going overboard on technical jargon. As a recreational triathlete, I devoured this book in two days and can't wait to put some of it into practice. His sample workouts seem too aggressive for beginners or older athletes, but they do demonstrate how to balance training time and level of intensity to optimize performance gains. The book helps me understand what I did wrong during my last racing season and where I can focus for improvement.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for someone already involved in multisport., December 10, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Time-Saving Training for Multisport Athletes (Paperback)

If you're looking for a book to help get you from couch- potato
shape to triathlete, this probably isn't it. If, however, you're already
in decent shape and want information on helping fit a triathlon training program into your hectic life, then you won't go wrong with this book. It can even work for marathon runnners (like me) who need to cross- train
in order to keep from getting injured.